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Dragon attack sends 2 to hospital

A Komodo dragon in Indonesia has attacked two employees in one of the giant lizards' protected island habitats, leaving its victims hospitalized with serious injuries, an official said on Wednesday. (ROMEO GACAD / AFP/GETTY IMAGES FILE PHOTO)

By The Associated Press

Wed., Feb. 6, 2013

JAKARTA, INDONESIA— A park official says two people have been hospitalized after being attacked by a giant komodo dragon that wandered into the office of a wildlife park in eastern Indonesia.

An official at Komodo National Park, Heru Rudiharto, said Wednesday the 2-metre-long (6 ½ foot-long) komodo dragon attacked a park ranger after walking into the office on Tuesday. It then attacked another park employee who came to help him. Both were badly bitten and were evacuated to a hospital on Bali Island.

Endangered Komodo dragons can grow longer than 3 metres (10 feet). Fewer than 4,000 are believed to be alive. They are found in the wild primarily on the eastern Indonesian islands of Komodo, Padar and Rinca.

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